Average occupancy level of office premises across Malaysia slid from 78 percent in Q4 2017 to 77.4 percent in the first quarter of the year, reported The Edge.
At the same time, the available supply of office space rose 0.4 percent or 64,590 sq m to 16.16 million sq m across 1,518 office buildings, according to data from the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC).
On a quarterly basis, Putrajaya saw the highest decline, with its occupancy rate falling from 52.6 percent to 41.5 percent as the inventory rose by 18.12 percent or 53,770 sq m to 350,470 sq m in Q1 2018.
That in Kuala Lumpur slid from 78.8 percent to 78.3 percent, while four other places recorded a marginal drop in occupancy – Sarawak (88.9 percent to 88.4 percent), Sabah (86 percent to 85.8 percent), Kedah (83.2 percent to 83 percent) and Johor (74.7 percent to 74.6 percent).
Only Pahang and Terengganu recorded respective marginal gains in occupancy from 83.8 percent to 84.2 percent and 93.1 percent to 93.9 percent.
On the other hand, occupancy levels in eight other places remained unchanged – Melaka (69.2 percent), Selangor (73.9 percent), Penang (76.6 percent), Labuan (81.3 percent), Negeri Sembilan (84.4 percent), Perak (89.1 percent), Kelantan (94.1 percent) and Perlis (100 percent).
On an annual basis, average occupancy rate of office space across the country rose from 76.3 percent to 77.4 percent, while available supply edged up by 2.94 percent or 460,830 sq m from 15.7 million sq m to 16.16 million sq m.
Again, Putrajaya posted the largest drop in occupancy from 51.4 percent in Q1 2017 decline to 41.5 percent during the first quarter of the year.
Four other places also recorded year-on-year drops. Sarawak dipped from 91.4 percent to 88.4 percent, Perak (89.3 percent to 89.1 percent), Kedah (85.2 percent to 83 percent) and Labuan (82.2 percent to 81.3 percent).
Perlis stood firm at 100 percent, while nine other areas saw an increase in occupancy level.
Kuala Lumpur’s rose from 76.4 percent to 78.3 percent, likewise for Pahang (74.3 percent to 84.2 percent), Terengganu (87.9 percent to 93.9 percent), Negeri Sembilan (80.5 percent to 84.4 percent), Sabah (84.2 percent to 85.8 percent), Kelantan (93.9 percent to 94.1 percent), Selangor (72.8 percent to 73.9 percent), Penang (76.4 percent to 76.6 percent) and Johor (72.9 percent to 74.6 percent).
Image sourced from Edge Property
This article was edited by the editorial team of PropertyGuru. To contact them about this or other stories email editorialteam@propertyguru.com.my
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